India, Armenia ink double-tax avoidance treaty amendments

New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS) In the fight against black money stashed abroad, India on Wednesday signed a protocol with Armenia, to make changes to the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) between the two countries.

“The protocol will enable the two countries to exchange information related to financial and banking transactions under the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention, and thereby facilitate them in addressing tax evasion,” the union finance ministry said in a release here.

“It is also expected to further strengthen the efforts of the government of India in curbing generation of black money,” it said.

The protocol amends the article on exchange of information for tax purposes in the bilateral DTAC of 2004, to bring it in line with the updations in the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) model, the statement added.

The confidentiality, or secrecy, clause in such treaties forbids sharing of details obtained under these with other law enforcement and investigation agencies.

India has double-tax avoidance treaties with over 95 countries and plans also to sign with others. The major countries with which it has signed these agreements are the US, Britain, the UAE, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, New Zealand and Mauritius.